Thursday- Science Question of the Day

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Thursday- ScienceQuestion of the Day
A student wants to determine if different colored
boxes produce the same temperature as a
whitebox. The student places white, blue, and
red boxes of the same size in the sunlight. A
thermometer isplaced inside each box. The
student observes and records the temperatures in
the boxes throughoutthe day.    Which is the
dependent variable in this investigation?F. size
of the boxesG. repeated trialsH. color of the
boxesJ. recorded temperatures

• 0607.INQ.1 
•  
• Design a simple experimental procedurewith an
  identified control and appropriate variables.

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6th Grade Science TCAPReviewing the Scientific
Method!(reach back this is from the beginning
of the year!)

• Todays Agenda
• Writing down the Question of the Day (5 minutes)
• Going over the Question of the Day (5 minutes)
• Reviewing the components of a good scientific
  investigation (10 minutes)
• Looking at Examples as a Team (10 minutes)
• (15 minutes)

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Going over the Question of the Day

• Testing Tips
• When reading about a scientific experiment, read
  through the description of the experiment first.
• Then read through the question what component
  of a scientific investigation is the question
  asking you to identify?
• In this question, we are being asked to identify
  the dependent variable.
• Remember, the dependent variable depends on what
  I do.
• What you are doing in this experiment is placing
  different colored boxes outside.
• What depends on the color of the box is the
  temperature inside!

A student wants to determine if different colored
boxes produce the same temperature as a
whitebox. The student places white, blue, and
red boxes of the same size in the sunlight. A
thermometer is placed inside each box. The
student observes and records the temperatures in
the boxes throughout the day.    Which is the
dependent variable in this investigation? F.
size of the boxesG. repeated trialsH. color of
the boxesJ. recorded temperatures
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Reviewing the components of a good scientific
investigation

• (10 minutes)

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Scientists have to take the time to think
logically when they are investigating a question
or problem.

• They break things down into many steps that make
  sense.

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7 Steps to the Scientific Method

• Most people agree that there are 5 to 8 main
  steps of the scientific method
• In Ms. McGuirks science class, we used the
  following 7 steps

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7 Steps of the Scientific Method

• 1) Choose a problem/ question
• 2) Research your problem/ make observations about
  your problem
• 3) Form a hypothesis
• 4) Write your procedure
• 4) Experiment to test the hypothesis
• 5) Record results/data of experiment
• 6) Communicate the conclusion

Write this down!
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1) Choose a problem or question.

• Choose something that can be answered with an
  experiment.
• It should be something that interests us, or
  deals with our everyday lives!

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Do PCA scholars prefer hot Cheetos or spicy
Doritos?
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OBSERVATION

• An observation is the act of gathering
  information based on the five senses.

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I see a lot of scholars eating hot Cheetos at
lunch everyday.
What is the sense I am using for my observation
here?
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2) Research your question

• Sometimes, if our question is complex, we may
  need to gather more information by conducting
  some research.
• We can conduct research by making observations.

• Examples
• Observe the world around you.
• Ask other people for advice!
• Look in books or use the internet to find more
  information!

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3) Develop your hypothesis

• A hypothesis is
• a possible answer
• to your question.
• Some people call a
• hypothesis an
• educated guess.

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After making my observations by asking scholars
what kind of snack they liked and seeing what
they ate at lunch, my hypothesis is that PCA
scholars prefer hot Cheetos to spicy Doritos.
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4) Write your procedure

• List of all of the materials you will need.
• List each thing you will do.
• Number each step
• in order.
• Write down everything you will do.

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My Procedure

• Materials

• Procedure

• 20 PCA 6th graders
• 20 PCA 7th graders
• 40 cups of hot Cheetos
• (each cup the same size)
• 40 cups of spicy Doritos
• (each cup the same size)
• 40 cups of water

• (1) I will choose 20 PCA 6th graders and 20 PCA
  7th graders at random
• (2) Each day for 5 days, I will test 4 6th
  graders and lunch and 4 7th graders until I test
  all 20.
• (3) Each scholar will be able to eat one cup of
  hot Cheetos one cup of spicy Doritos
• (4) In between eating each cup, they will drink a
  cup of water
• (5) After they have eaten both cups, they will
  pick which one they enjoyed better.

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5) Experiment to test the hypothesis!

• Get your materials, follow your procedures, and
  make observations.
• Write down your observations, this is called your
  data!

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My Data

• 14 6th graders preferred hot Cheetos
• 6 6th graders preferred spicy Doritos
• 9 7th graders preferred hot Cheetos
• 11 7th graders preferred spicy Doritos

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6) Organize your data

• Write down as much data as you can about what you
  see during your experiment.
• Make tables, charts, or graphs using your data.

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What do our PCA Scholars prefer Hot Cheetos or
Spicy Doritos?
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7) State your conclusion

• In the conclusion, scientists answer the question
  that the experiment asked.
• Look at your data and decide what it tells you
  about your hypothesis. Summarize your data.
• Communicate your results with others.

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My Conclusion

• Based on my results, 23 PCA scholars preferred
  hot Cheetos, while 17 PCA scholars preferred
  spicy Doritos. Therefore, it is my conclusion
  that PCA scholars prefer hot Cheetos to spicy
  Doritos. My hypothesis was correct!

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Once a scientist completes an experiment, they
often repeat it to see if they get the same
findings and results.

• This is really what we call verification, or
  checking things out to make sure everything was
  valid and will happen again and again.

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Every Good Experiment Has Three Things!

1. Independent variables
2. Controls
3. Dependent variable

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Think about this

• Lets say that Brad has a pimple. He wonders
  what will get rid of it. Hes heard that putting
  toothpaste on the zit will get rid of it. Hes
  also heard that lemon juice will get rid of it.
  He decides to rub his face with lemon juice and
  toothpaste. The next morning his pimple is gone.
  But which thing cured him? The toothpaste or
  the lemon juice?

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The Answer?

• How many of you think it was the toothpaste?
  Raise your hand.
• How many of you think it was the lemon juice?
  Raise your hand.
• The truth is.
• THERE IS NO WAY FOR YOU TO KNOW FOR SURE BECAUSE
  THIS IS A BAD EXPERIMENT!!!

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Definitions

• Variable anything in an experiment that can
  change
• Independent variable what you manipulate (change
  on purpose) in an experiment
• Control(s) what you keep the same so it/they
  dont interfere with your independent variable
• Dependent variable what happens in an experiment
  because of the independent variable

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Remember our Sayings

• I CHANGE THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE.
• THE DEPENDENT VARIABLE DEPENDS ON WHAT I CHANGE.
• THE CONTROL STAYS THE SAME AND IS USED TO
  COMPARE.

Write this down!
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Looking at Examples as a Team

• (10 minutes)

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Learning Through An Example

• Larry was told that a certain muscle cream was
  the newest best thing on the market and claims to
• double a persons muscle power when used as part
  of a muscle-building workout. Interested in this
• product, he buys the special muscle cream and
  recruits Patrick and SpongeBob to help him with
  an
• experiment. Larry develops a special marshmallow
  weight-lifting program for Patrick and SpongeBob.
• He meets with them once every day for a period of
  2 weeks and keeps track of their results. Before
• each session Patricks arms and back are lathered
  in the muscle cream, while Sponge Bobs arms and
• back are lathered with the regular lotion.

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What is the dependent variable in this experiment?

• Since Larry is looking to see if the cream has an
  effect on how much someone can lift, the
  dependent variable is THE NUMBER OF MARSHMALLOWS
  THAT CAN BE LIFTED by Spongebob and Patrick
• The number of marshmallows each one can lift
  depends on the type of lotion they got
  (independent variable)

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What are the Controls?

• In this experiment, there are several things that
  Larry kept the same
• He had Spongebob and Patrick do the same workout
• He had both of them do the workout every single
  day for 2 weeks
• He rubbed the lotions on their arms and back

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Learning Through An Example

• Homer notices that his shower is covered in a
  strange green slime. His friend Barney tells him
  that coconut juice will get rid of the green
  slime. Homer decides to check this out by
  spraying half of the shower with coconut juice.
  He sprays the other half of the shower with
  water.

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• What is the independent variable in this
  experiment?
• Homer spraying two different liquids on his
  shower.
• What is the dependent variable in this
  experiment?
• The resulting change in slime residue.
• What is the control?
• The WATER that Homer sprayed (since it was liquid
  he used to compare)

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Learning Through An Example

• Smithers thinks that a special juice will
  increase the energy of workers. He creates two
  groups of 50 workers each and assigns each group
  the same task (in this case, they're supposed to
  staple a set of papers). Group A is given the
  special juice to drink while they work. Group B
  is not given the special juice.

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• What is the independent variable in this
  experiment?
• Smithers giving the different drinks to his
  workers
• What is the dependent variable in this
  experiment?
• The resulting levels of energy (the number of
  papers they staple).
• What is the control?
• The group that is not given the special juice.

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NOW ITS YOUR TURN(15 minutes)

• On my Quia profile, open the March Madness
  Folder and click on Week 4 Practice Quiz
• You will have the last portion of class to answer
  10 practice questions on this topic.
• The secret word for todays practice quiz is
  Variable
• Once you submit your answers, make sure you
  review the questions you got wrong!